Illusion of Freedom
by SkyeRose
Summary: Set immediately after the movie's end. What happens when Shilo wanders through her newfound freedom with absolutely no idea how to navigate reality? Better than the summary. Leans toward Grilo. Heavily hinted at, anyways. ONESHOT.


**Illusion of Freedom**

**Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine. I'm only taking them out for a bit of fun.**

**A/N: Saw the movie a couple months ago and immediately fell in love with it. (And Graverobber. He's ridiculously sexy.) It's so unique and twisted…very well done. Anyway, I figured I'd at least attempt a fanfic, even though it probably isn't very good. Any and all feedback is appreciated, answered, and saved. ******** Just no flames please.**

**Set at the end of the film.**

**ENJOY!!!**

Shilo squared her shoulders as the doors opened and the bright sunlight filled her view; mocking her. The people watching her exit from the theatre were just starting to realize that what they had witnessed was not merely a gory rendition of a play, but a gory blood-feud that ended in tragedy.

Shilo squinted against the flashes of cameras and ignored the horrified gasps that her bloody appearance incited. With her head held high and a strength that she didn't feel laced into her every step, she walked from the theatre without ever looking back. Behind her, someone screamed; the sound made shrill and empty by the distance she was trying to put between herself and the macabre scene she was running from.

Running only in the figurative sense, of course. Shilo doubted that she could move any faster than a brisk walk…and even now, she could feel her step faltering. Desperately, she tried to hold together the pieces that barely made up her existence. One by one, she could feel them loosening, then falling away all together.

A ragged, involuntary gasp escaped her; burning her lungs and whipping through her tear-choked throat. Her knees buckled and her hand flew out, bracing her shaking body against a rough brick wall.

She wasn't equipped for this. She knew that. Her existence, up until the last few days, had been a sheltered one. She'd raged against her confines, but deep down, she knew they were put in place for her own good. Her father had been good to her.

'_No, he wasn't.'_ A cruel voice spat at her from some deep recess of her mind. _'He poisoned you. He's poisoned you your whole life.'_

Shilo squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears with her hands. "Stop." She whispered brokenly, tasting blood on her lips.

Her father's blood.

"Dad…" Shilo gasped again and this time, when her knees buckled, she didn't reach for support. She collapsed, the rough concrete fraying the edge of her dress and scraping her knees. "Dad, I'm not ready. I can't do this." The words were choked out between sobs.

Her body shook with the force of her desolate cries and her hands moved to cover her eyes. "Please…" Shilo begged. "Please, come back. Don't leave me, Dad! Daddy, please!" The last was shouted with such ferocity that it scared even her.

Shilo let her hands slowly fall away as her tear-filled eyes stared blankly in front of her. She was alone. She had nothing and no one.

In a twisted sort of irony, she acknowledged that for years all she had ever wanted was to be free; to go anywhere, do anything…

And, now that she could…the only place she wanted to be was home. With her father.

Wiping her nose with the top of her glove, she looked down at herself in muted disgust. She was wearing the dress that that monster had requested she wear. The sticky prickle of drying blood was all over, coating her in a stench that Shilo feared would never be washed off.

She didn't know how it happened, but she was suddenly on her feet and walking with a sort of wandering shuffle. She had no idea where she was going, just trusting her legs to take her somewhere far away.

Her head was filled with cotton and her throat ached from crying. She didn't know how to deal with grief.

Or freedom.

The world, which had always seemed so infinite and majestic, now seemed small and narrow. No one was free here. They were all forced to abide by their own human limitations.

Shilo's eyes burned and her fingers throbbed. Looking down, she saw that they were clenched into tight balls, her nails digging into her palm hard enough to bruise. She may have drawn blood, but there was no way to tell for sure.

She was already covered in someone else's blood.

She had been walking aimlessly for less than an hour when the sky lost its familiar orange hue and melted into a suffocating black. As if coming out of a coma, Shilo snapped into awareness.

Nothing around her looked familiar. She was in a narrow alley; she knew that much by the brick walls that flanked her. If she stretched out her arms she could probably almost touch both sides at the same time.

Wiping her cheeks for any stray tears, she winced at the pull of dry blood. Her mind was still fuzzy and grief-stricken, but she knew enough to know that she was lost.

And that 'lost'…was a very bad thing to be.

Especially at night.

Especially when she had no way of defending herself.

Looking around nervously, Shilo did her best to put her sorrow out of her mind until she was somewhere safe. She ducked her head and began walking with a new purpose.

She _had_ to get home.

Determinedly looking straight ahead, Shilo didn't see the three shadowy figures until they were upon her. A hand closed over her mouth, effectively preventing any screams from escaping. Two more hands locked her arms behind her back as she was pulled back against a squat body.

Her eyes widened in terror as the third figure hovered in front of her, mouth stretched into a leer. "Well, well, well…What do we have here?" He sneered in a sing-song tone that turned Shilo's stomach.

"Looks like a pretty little lost thing." The guy holding her from behind laughed cruelly. "Are you lost, pretty thing?"

Shilo shook her head, not knowing what else to do. She could feel fresh tears running over her cheeks and blurring her vision. "Aw, I think you are." The man in front of her sneered. "Don't you fret, pretty little lost thing…we're gonna take care of you." He reached out to wipe her tears with a dirty palm, but Shilo jerked away.

"She's got a bit of fire!" The one who had clamped her mouth shut exclaimed, sounding pleased.

"That's okay." The man holding her from behind whispered, his rancid breath scorching Shilo's neck. "She won't have it for much longer." His hands slipped downwards, one coming to rest under her heaving rib cage, while the other curled under the hem of her dress.

Shilo whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut, more tears gathering behind her lids. Her muscles were tensed to the point of pain and her stomach was knotted so tightly she was sure that it would never untwist again.

She doubted she'd live long enough to find out.

Shilo prayed to any god that was listening to save her; to rescue her from this alley and bring her someplace safe. She gave one last desperate plea before she felt her dress being pulled up roughly…and then she was falling backwards.

Her eyes snapped open as her elbows and tailbone connected with the concrete ground; _hard_. The alleyway was mostly dark; lit only by the streetlamps at either end of the alley and a giant television screen in place of a moon that gave her surroundings an eerie blue glow.

The first thing she saw was the man who had been leering at her lying comatose against the brick wall opposite her, blood running in rivulets from beneath his hair. Choking down her cry of surprise, she turned her gaze to the three figures left standing.

Of her three original attackers, only two still stood. They flanked the newcomer; prowling around him dangerously. The stranger was taller with a broader torso than her original assailants. His shadow fell across Shilo as he moved to keep both of the other men in his line of sight.

Suddenly, with practiced efficiency, the two thugs ran at the stranger; one coming from his front, one aiming for his back. Shilo willed herself to look away from the bloodbath that was sure to ensue, but she found that she couldn't tear her eyes away. It was like watching a train wreck; as much as you wanted to look away, you just couldn't.

The brawl was over in the space of a breath. The stranger had faced the attacker running at his front, grabbed him by the front of his shirt, ducked his shoulder, and twisted around…slamming the airborne assailant into his accomplice.

Both thugs went down without so much as scream. There had been no time.

Shilo scrabbled backwards, fingers rubbed raw by the jagged concrete, eyes never leaving the stranger's back, even as her own back hit the alley wall. He was facing away from her, breathing heavily, an aura of fury surrounding him.

He was terrifying.

Before she even knew what was happening, the stranger had whirled, took one step, and grabbed her arms in an iron grip. He lifted her into the air as though she weighed no more than a piece of paper and slammed her against the wall.

"What the hell were you thinking!" The roar filled the air around them, the walls seeming to shake. Blue eyes blazed at her and Shilo gasped as the blue techni-glow threw the stranger's face into stark relief.

"Graverobber?" Shilo managed to choke out through her fear and astonishment. She hadn't known him long…but she had never seen him this _angry_. He didn't seem like the type. Sure, he gave off a feral, dangerous vibe, but he also seemed to go with the flow. He was always a step ahead of everybody else, so nothing ever really shocked him into a rage.

Except this.

As his name passed her lips, another surge of anger seared through him. His eyes flashed and he pushed closer to her, closing the distance between their bodies. Graverobber was still holding her against the wall, her feet several inches off the ground.

In some small part of her mind that was thinking relatively clearly, Shilo noted how hard Graverobber's body was. It was like every muscle in his body was a steel cord. Trapped between him and brick wall, Shilo knew she should be scared.

"What were you _thinking_?" He repeated, growling deep in his chest. He shook her slightly and, in the faint light, Shilo saw something besides anger flit through his gaze. Was that…worry?

"I'm sorry." She whispered, swallowing hard. He was _too_ close. She couldn't think.

"Sorry? You're _sorry_? You could've died!" His voice was harsh as he spoke, but there was a hoarseness to it that puzzled Shilo.

"I…I didn't." There was enough of an incredulous note in her voice that Graverobber could not ignore it.

"Damn right you didn't." Glaring at her for a long moment, his expression suddenly changed. Gone was the anger and feral energy. The tension in his body drained away, but he kept a strong hold on her arms, protecting her from falling.

"Christ, kid." His forehead dropped onto her shoulder, and Shilo's eyes widened as she felt him take a shuddering breath, pulling himself together. They widened further as Graverobber stepped away from the wall, pulling her with him. His arms wrapped around her; one around her shoulders and the other around her lower back.

Her toes barely brushed the ground.

"Um…Graverobber?" Shilo didn't know how to react. She was clutching the back of his jacket, but other than that, she had no idea what to do. Her father had rarely shown her physical manifestations of his love. _'Not that that's what Graverobber is doing.'_ Shilo hurriedly assured her racing heart. The disappointment at that thought is what scared her the most.

She shouldn't want him to love her. To show her love…

Should she?

"Don't you ever do something that stupid again." He paused. "Or I'll kill you myself."

"I didn't mean to." Her voice was small and muffled against his coat. He smelled of sweat, adrenaline, and the spicy sting of rot, but she found that the smell was more comforting than disgusting.

"No one ever means to, kid." His voice was sarcastic, but his face was still buried in her neck so she figured he wasn't that upset with her.

"Thank you." Shilo said awkwardly after a few moments of silence. She didn't want to always be the damsel in distress. She wished that, with her freedom, came the immediate ability to defend herself; to not have to rely on somebody else to protect her.

Logically, she knew that that would take time. But she promised herself that she would get there; she would be independent…she would be strong.

But, for now…being saved wasn't so bad.

Another minute passed in silence before he finally loosened his grip, setting her back on her feet gently. Stepping back slightly, he straightened to his full height and looked around. The thugs hadn't moved and, while he would have loved to stick around for round two, Shilo had other ideas.

As though reading his mind, Shilo touched his arm to get his attention. "Can we go home now?" If he thought her use of the words 'we' and 'home' in the same sentence was odd, he didn't show it.

He nodded silently, took hold of her hand, and led her down another alley. After five minutes of walking, Graverobber's gravelly voice, sounding like his normal cocky self, interrupted Shilo's thoughts. "You don't have to thank me, you know."

"Yes, I do." Shilo shrugged. "You saved me. I owe you."

"Owe me?" Graverobber waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Shilo stopped and turned to face the man walking beside her. "Is that what you want?" It was an honestly asked question; no suggestion or disgust in her tone.

Graverobber's eyes shot to the girl's, surprise evident in their blue depths. "Kid, I didn't—I don't…Dammit!" He ran frustrated fingers through his hair. "I didn't do it to indebt you, I did it because…" He trailed off.

When it became obvious that he didn't plan on continuing, Shilo cocked her head and arched an eyebrow.

"Forget it." He snapped, tugging her forward by their still connected hands.

Unwilling to give up so easily, Shilo spun to stand in front of him blocking his path. "Because why?"

Graverobber stopped short so as not to trip over her. "Kid." He growled, glowering down at her. She blinked innocently up at him. "Because I happened to be in the right place at the right time." He bit out.

"Bull." Shilo smiled.

"Of course it's bull, but it's all you're getting, so take it or I'm leaving." He smirked when she rolled her eyes. For having just been attacked, she was recovering rather quickly. He smiled inwardly, she was tougher than she looked.

Taking a step forward, Shilo stood on her tiptoes and got right in his face. "You may think you're smart, Graverobber, but I see right through you."

He bent over slightly so that they were eye to eye. "And I, you, Miss Wallace."

Shilo smiled at him; the first real smile he had ever seen on her lips. "I'm going to be okay, aren't I?" She phrased it as a question, but he knew that she already knew the answer.

"Yeah, kid. I think you are." And she would be. He knew the days ahead were going to be the toughest she had ever faced, but he would be there for her should she need him.

**The End**

**A/N: Lame ending, I know. This story did not go the way I planned at all. LOL. Please R&R! ******


End file.
